Since you don't get the instruction booklet with the demo, let me offer my helpful gameplay hints section here:

*STATS - If you want early melee success, buy some Dexterity! It increases your chances of bypassing monster armor/parry.

*MENUS - in single player mode, entering any of the menus (C for Character, E for equipment) will bring up the menu AND halt the event clock while in the menu. If you need a respite from attack, this is a good method. You can even go to the potions tab and drink a potion to heal.

*SHIELD - For melee combat, the shields are key! Hold your block and let a monster hit your shield, then clock him with an attack.

*ATTACKS - There are three melee attack types.

A) Forward Combo: If you are moving forward (W) when you start a series of attacks, you will initiate the forward combo. This combo is good for pressing a single monster. The advanced strike at the end of this combo has a long range and inflicts punishing damage!

B) Left/Right Combo: If you are moving left or right (A)or(D) when you start a series of attacks, you will initiate the Left/Right combo. This combo is good for fighting multiple opponents, as it uses wide swings and the advance strikes at the end of the combo can hit multiple opponents.

Chop: If you are moving back (S) when you attack, you will do an overhead chop. This is a quick, short range attack, with hit/damage bonuses (great for killing bats)

*BOW - The bow is an excellent tool for softening up your opponents before closing for an attack! (especially on incoming bats and slimes (allows you to stay out of gas-breath range)

*DEMO SPELLS - We gave the demo characters a fairly wide range of spells of each type and of various power levels (Any class can access these spells in the demo). Feel free to bust out a Celestial Lightning Bolt or a Frost Nova. (if you are harried by multiple opponents, try hitting E to go into your menu and casting Poison Cloud from the Nether Menu, it casts instantly and has a devestating effect on monsters). Freezing Shards also do wonders against anything that attacks in packs!

*HOTKEYING SPELLS - the "F" key brings up your quick spell menu and equips your last equipped spell. You can put spells/potions into this list by placing the mouse cursor over them in the equipment menu and pressing a number key. Hitting that number key in-game will then equip that spell, or will instantly cast/use it if it is an instant-cast spell (like a heal potion, Blade of Baal, or my favorite, Poison Cloud)

*EVASIVE MANEUVERS - Evasive maneuvers are active for all characters in the demo and are great for any combat situation. You are also statistically more difficult to strike while performing an evasive maneuver.

When using magic or the bow, try firing the ranged attack and then double-tapping left or right to roll (or back and SPACE to backflip). The casting will occur, even as you dive away from your enemies ranged attacks!

*BLADE OF BAAL: This Nether spell can turn a hairy encounter in your favor very quickly, don't be shy to use it.

*MIX IT UP - In DL, all characters can mix-up magic and combat skills, some higher classes even focus on such combinations. To give you a taste of this, we were liberal with the magic available in the demo. If you are a fighter, don't be afraid to Blade of Baal your weapon!

Hope that helps! There is ALOT of power in the DL combat system, and the demo characters have an extra-liberal helping of it! Make sure to experiment with different weapons/magic/evasive moves, and try combining all three!

INSPECT TRAPS will give you more ability to see the traps BEFORE you have to disarm them.

DISARM TRAPS will slow down the speed that the bar moves across the icons.

Also, if you inspect is high enough to see the traps, you can make sure the icons you have to hit are not right next to each other. If the combination you got looks too tough, hit LEAVE and activate the chest again.

*CHARACTER CONTROL - Your movement is independant of your attacks! You can move and attack, but this is not always wise. Standing still and waiting for a good opportuninty to move forward and strike usually works well. Be aware - the advance strikes at the end of each combo are powerful, but render you immobile while you execute them. It takes practice to use these attacks effectively.

Oh, and when disarming a chest, you can click the INVENTORY button to go to your inventory and get some lockpicks, which will be used up, but will boost your skill during that disarm attempt.